


Trapped in a Roll of Disillusion

by Thee_Maxwell



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, the original characters are just parents, they don't have names - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:49:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thee_Maxwell/pseuds/Thee_Maxwell
Summary: Alex thinks it was the adrenaline that had him so high strungHe also thinks it may have been the support he got from the boys when he came out to themRegardless of the reason, something compelled Alex to let it slip to his parents during their after-concert celebration at home.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 141





	Trapped in a Roll of Disillusion

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Coming Clean" by Green Day, which I got the idea from https://archiveofourown.org/works/27093028 this story (It's very good, please read it. I have so many personal cannon ideas about the boys because of it). 
> 
> I'm going to be honest, this was written mostly from the hours of 1-3:30 am over a couple of days. That being said my school provided Grammarly is my beta other than when I would reread sections, so I'm so sorry if nothing makes sense.
> 
> I'll probably take this down and rewrite when I have more time

Alex thinks it was the adrenaline that had him so high strung. Sunset Curve had performed for their largest crowd yet; nothing major, but this club had more energy and seemed to be brimming with life. They seemed to genuinely love the music that the band was playing, and it just felt good.

He also thinks it may have been the support he got from the boys when he came out to them. Bobby barely reacted, but in a good way, in a “yeah cool as long as you play the drums, it doesn’t change anything,” and honestly? That was great coming from him. Not that Alex thought Bobby would have a problem, but they were still fairly new friends, and he didn’t know what to expect. Reggie was chill, too, joking that he should tone down how handsome he is because he “can’t have Alex distracted while they were playing.” Alex just blew him a kiss and put a mental pin in how Reggie’s face reddened.

Luke, on the other hand? He quietly held Alex’s hand, looking down. He whispered that he “might also be into guys.” And by “might,” Alex assumes he means “definitely into them but  
I’m also into women, so I don’t know.” Which was fine, because it’s never that simple.

Regardless of the reason, something compelled Alex to let it slip to his parents during their after-concert celebration at home. His parents didn’t love the band, but they vastly preferred it over the dancing that Alex had been drawn to in the past, so they let it slide as long as he kept up with school. 

He didn’t even get a formal moment; Alex was rambling and just. They were all in the kitchen, Alex was drinking some water, his mother was nursing a glass of wine, and his father had downed several shots of vodka and was pouring out another one. His alcohol wasn’t unusual.

“-and it was just- that was the best we’ve played in front of an audience. And Luke? He was just incredible tonight. I could kiss him; I’ve never heard him sing that passionately before.” 

He looked up to meet his parents’ eyes, only to find his mother looking intently at her glass and deep darkness in his father’s. His eyes flittered between them.

“What?”

“Don’t say that kind of shit.” Alex’s father took his shot. “That, that kissing shit.” Alex was taller than his father, but at this moment, he felt so small. He opened his mouth to respond but couldn’t find the voice to do so. 

His mother, while still looking down, whispered, “Are you?” Alex’s hand just shook on his water glass, spilling just a little bit. 

But he didn’t respond.

His father banged the bottle of Vodka onto the counter. Alex flinched, looking up weakly at him. “Are you gay, Alexander?” Stuttering out a few “I’s” and “Sir’s,” Alex’s vision went foggy, but he heard his father’s breath get heavier, and his grip on the bottle get tighter. 

“Are you a fucking faggot, Alex?”

Alex felt the weight of everything crash onto him. He had had anxiety before, but this was different; this wasn’t just an accelerated heart rate and a slight hand quiver. This was him unable to breathe, his grip being so poor on the cup that he had to put it down as not to spill, his head feeling like it was a balloon being overfilled with air. He was going to explode, and it wasn’t going to be satisfying.

He thought his head did explode, but, alas, it was just the bottle of vodka being smashed against him. It snapped Alex out of his daze for about three seconds before going straight into another one. He heard something, probably his mother yelling as he fell to the floor, but the ringing in his ears was too much to hear over. Alex heaved, bile threatened and burned at his throat, but his dad took the attention away from that with a kick to his chin.

“You’re lucky you’re a minor. As soon as you’re eighteen, you are out of this fucking house. None of your friends are allowed over, ever, and you are not to be seen. Am I understood?” The venom dripping from him was palpable. 

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now clean this shit up like the fucking housewife you are.” 

Alex didn’t remember what happened after that. Not clearly, at least. He threw up when trying to stand up, and his mom helped him clean up, but that was about it. The next morning was rough, with a headache that prevented him from even looking at anything remotely bright and remaining nausea stirred on by the lingering alcohol and blood smell. 

He didn’t know how much of the day passed; his time was spent sleeping and hating being awake. There was no thinking because the thoughts just couldn’t seem to form without the headache following. 

He got out of bed the next day because of the stench that was surrounding him. When he reached the bathroom, he decided that a bath would probably be better because he didn’t know if he’d be able to stand for that long. 

It turns out the bath wasn’t comfortable either, but at least he felt a little better about himself. Alex was able to prop himself up in front of a mirror to assess the damage. His bottom lip was split, and his chin bruised. But the biggest problem was the side of his head, where his hair still somehow had dried blood in it, and there were three or four good-sized cuts with several smaller areas of abrasions. 

Fuck. Those were going to be hard to hide.

Alex made the executive decision to skip school again but also decided to go to practice at night. Usually, he drove, but he was definitely not in any condition to dive. But it was such a short distance to Bobby’s house. So he drove.

He somehow made it in one piece. The car was safe, and yeah, maybe his headache was back from having to focus so much, but at least he was somewhere with people he liked. He walked slowly towards the shed, hearing some faint, tight laughter that was distinctly Reggie’s; his heart warmed at the sound. 

With a light knock at the door, everyone looked his way. Any conversation stopped, Luke half stood up, and Reggie gaped a little bit. “Well, look who decided to sho-”

“What the fuck happened to you? Where have you been?”

Alex’s brain was swimming with needing to process multiple questions, but the only thing that crossed his mind was ‘fuck, I forgot to wear a hood.’ A quiet but cold Bobby responded, “what do you mean ‘I forgot to wear a hood’?” Fuck. 

“Alex, it’s been days. We dropped by your house and no one answered the door. We were about to call the police.” 

“I- days?” Bobby brushed his hair back and nodded. He was still seated, on Alex’s right, but his face held the most concerned look Alex had seen on him. “Alex, it’s Tuesday. Four days, buddy. We’re just worried about you.” 

Luke stood up and looked, getting a better angle to properly examine Alex’s face. His thumb brushed Alex’s lip, which caused the blond to flinch and look to his right. Luke had gently gasped and shakily exhaled, pulling his hair out of the way.

“What happened.” It wasn’t a question, at least, it hadn’t felt like one. 

“Guys, I promise I’m okay. I just, um, I got a little drunk and tripped?” Alex didn’t sound convincing to even himself. His words were slurred, but he couldn’t tell. “You don’t get cuts like this from tripping, buddy; you want to try that again?” Reggie was right next to him. When did he get right next to him? 

The room spun around him. It felt tight and, shit, he was on the ground. Luke, very quietly, asked, “Alex, do you have a concussion right now?” Alex thinks that he nodded, and that’s good enough for the boys. Bobby leaves the group with a knowing nod to the other two.

He comes back a minute later with a cup of water and a wet rag. The rag was handed to Reggie, who was already on his left side, and he was handed the cup. It had a straw, which Alex was incredibly grateful for; there was less head movement involved. His head stung like a bitch despite Reggie dabbing the towel as gently as possible. 

They all sat quietly, Reggie cleaning, Luke gently holding Alex’s hand, and Bobby holding the cup for Alex when he wasn’t drinking. 

Thirty or so minutes passed, Alex unable to decide if it felt like three minutes or an hour. They were all sat in silence, although Luke, Bobby, and Reggie shared glances. It ended up being decided between them that Luke would say something because he knew Alex the longest, even though Luke isn’t sure how they came to that decision without speaking. 

“So, Alex,” Alex shut his eyes and looks directly at his lap. “You wanna tell us what happened?” He took a breath.

“I, um, Saturday night. I was home, and my parents and I were just talking. I was too excited about the night, I don’t know, I offhandedly mentioned that Luke sang really well, and in my excitement I said that I could’ve kiss him. I guess. I don’t know.”

He was crying. Of course he was. The tears stung his lip a little bit, but he hated more than anything the looks he was being given. Yeah, all the boys were there for each other, but it usually happened if Luke got in a fight with his mom, or Reggie got between his parents. It was never him. But the boys sat patiently, waiting for him to continue on his own.

“My dad, he had been drinking, and uh, he just kept questioning me and I didn’t know what to say, and he kinda hit me? With the bottle. I don’t, I don’t really remember much after that.”

They just looked at each other while Alex looked down. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, voice broken from crying.

“I’m gonna kill him.” 

Alex looked up at Bobby, who’s expression was hardened. His body was stiff, fists clenched in his lap. He wasn’t joking, at least not fully. Alex knew he was protective, but this was past anything he had experienced before from him.

“No, Bobby, it’s okay. I promise, they didn’t kick me out or anything, not yet at least. And he doesn’t get violent that often, really, I’m okay.” He found himself fumbling over his words as he tried to defend his dad. “And my mom she helped me clean up afterwards and they just were giving me my space and-”

“Alex, have you eaten?” Reggie sounded soft; there was no level of humor in his voice. “I don’t think so. I’ve just kind of been sleeping the whole time.” 

Luke stood up, grabbing the cup of water and disappeared, probably to get him snacks. Reggie moved to squat in front of him, and held his hand out. “You think you can stand up? You’ll be more comfortable on the couch.” Alex nods, accepting the help offered. Bobby clapped his shoulder. “I’m gonna take a call real quick, okay? Luke should be back soon.”

Reggie brings him over, letting Alex sit down before sitting himself. Alex leans onto Reggie’s shoulder, just breathing. They rest in the quiet for a couple minutes, which felt a little too long, so Alex was grateful when Reggie started talking again.

“Hey, how’s your sister?” 

“She’s good. Eighth grade can be tough, but she’s handling it well. She seems to have a good group of friends. Also really into math, which, can’t relate, but it’s working for her.” Alex physically felt lighter talking about her. 

“Man, I would hope you’re decent at math. You need all the numbers to keep time for us.” 

“Nah, that’s just a good internal clock. I don’t understand calculus, but I’m sure she’ll pick it up quickly.” They went back to silence, but this time it felt comfortable. Reggie had his arm over Alex’s shoulders, subconsciously trying to protect him.

Luke soon came back, throwing a bag of chips at Alex, but handed him the glass of water. He also pulled out a towel, some ointment, and bandages, but put them off to the side. They let him eat, and, God, Alex didn’t realize how hungry he was until the bag was completely gone in what must have been record time.

Once he was finished eating, Luke looked for permission to help clean him up. He nods, and almost immediately regrets it. The cuts were scabbing, which were being taken off by the towel, causing him to bleed a bit again. Luke managed to clean everything fairly neatly, and begun to apply the ointment to all of the major cuts. Some of them were able to be covered well, but there was hair in the way of others, so it was perfect.

Bobby came back into the room, walking heavily and at a much faster pace than usual. The three boys looked up when he exhaled an “Alex, you’re staying here tonight. I called my parents, they don’t care as long as you’re fine. I also called your house, sorry, but it took almost all the self control I have to not go over there and show what it means to care about someone.”

“Bobby, really, it’s okay.” Alex stood up a little to quickly, but was able to find his balance. The food has helped some.

“It’s really not. I called them because I though maybe, maybe they might care about where their oldest child is. You want to guess what your shithead father said?” Bobby’s voice was getting raspy, and wet, like he was holding back tears that hadn’t become visible yet. Alex just looked at him. “He said that he didn’t care, that you were only welcome back home out of obligation as a parent. That he assumed you had run away permanently because he told you you’d be out of a house when you were eighteen anyway.”

“He kicked you out?” Reggie sat up straighter.

“I still have over a year to figure it out. I can’t just leave my sister, and all my stuff is still there. It’s not as simple as walking out.” 

Luke grabbed his shoulders and spun him towards him. “Alex,” he looked hurt. “This isn’t just your dad getting a little angry, Alex. This is serious.” Alex gently put his hand on Luke’s wrist. “I know it is, but-”

“You’re still staying tonight. I already arranged the spare room for you to sleep in, and told your parents that you would anyway. I also don’t really feel safe with you driving home tonight, especially if you have a concussion. “

“Thanks, Bobby, I appreciate it, you guys, I really do. But, can we like, rehearse? Banging on some drums doesn’t sound too bad right now.” Reggie laughs behind him. A jovial bark, but it was followed by Luke chuckling with him. “Alex, as great of a drummer as you are, I’m not going to trust you to be able to keep tempo with heightened emotions and a concussion. You get a little, um, passionate. Not quite what we’re going for.”

Alex punched his shoulder and pouted but laughed with him afterwards. They ended up just hanging out, watched a movie while Luke wrote some more lyrics. They all somehow managed to fit all four of them into the one couch in Bobby’s living room, even though there were other seats. It wasn’t discussed, but it was definitely in case something happened so they could all be as close as possible.

Also because they were sharing snacks and the close proximity made that easier.

And maybe Luke and Reggie asked more than they should have if they should stay over that night. Maybe they were just a little lighter on shit talking Alex than they normally would. And perhaps Bobby felt obligated as the oldest to take care of his brother, which may or may not include a trip to Alex’s house the next day. Just to get his school bag so Alex wouldn’t have to worry about missing any more school. 

But no one would hear that from them. It was an unspoken promise to not bring up the night unless Alex did first. And he almost never did; nothing about his home life was brought up ever. So if he stayed in the garage a couple more nights of the week than they used to? 

That was fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'ALL WE STAN PROTECTIVE BOBBY IN THIS HOUSE I FORGET NOT EVERYONE DOES. I genuinely think that he would be the dad friend bc I head cannon him as being a year older (I don't know why, I just do) and he automatically feels that he needs to help the boys.
> 
> Thank you for reading despite my rambling warning earlier! I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't actually think this is how it happened but I do think that Alex's parents wouldn't kick him out on some moral obligation bullshit, not just bc they love their son. I just had an idea tbh
> 
> I also have no clue how to end stories how are people good at this?


End file.
